A Flare of Despair
by Godslayer
Summary: A new kid in town starts school and gets off to a rocky start. He discovers his mutant abilities and makes a decision. This takes place during the beginning of season 2 and some of the events will be very familiar. Pre-DoR. Chapter 2 re-edited.
1. A New Beginning

Author's note: This story contains characters that do not belong to me and are property to Marvel Comics, Kids WB and their affiliates. I believe I am the owner of my own characters and their abilities (Just Rick's abilities, he's the only mutant for now) It's kind of something I decided to do out of the blue and I hope you enjoy it. This first chapter will be in Rick's point of view so he can explain his story, later as he interacts with more characters it will shift to a third person perspective.  
  
  
  
A Flare of Despair  
  
  
  
  
  
I was lying in bed, not getting any sleep as usual. Its been like this since before I moved away from my old home. Mom and Dad split up and I had to move to live with my older sis under court order for best interest in the child. Mom and Dad both had their fair share of problems, mostly drinking. I moved with my sister Lis, short for Elissa, to this place called Bayville. She owned a decent sized apartment, enough room for the two of us and really nothing to complain about I just liked being in my own home, "I guess this is my new home..." I thought... I turned over to look at my clock; it flashed 2:35 am. "I'm never gonna get any sleep" I said to myself as I pulled the covers over my head. "And tomorrow I have to start school... I don't wanna go." I reached for my CD player on my nightstand and put on my earphones, "This should put me to sleep," I told myself as I shut my eyes, and before I knew it, I fell into a deep peaceful slumber.  
  
Suddenly, I was back home with all my friends, Kyle, Fred, Jenn, Anna, they were all there and we were all hanging out on my porch, our daily routine. "So, what do you guys wanna do tonight?" asked Jenn. "I don't know," replied Kyle " Maybe we can go to Andrew's house and tell him Anna's got a thing for him." We all laughed, but Anna got upset and pushed Kyle off the chair he was sitting on, then we laughed some more. Out of nowhere, the sky started turning red and it got intensely hot. I turned to look at my friends and they were melting. They were stretching to the ground with horrific expressions on their face. I closed my eyes, shutting them tightly, when I opened them again, I was surrounded by flames. They engulfed me, I was swallowed by the immense heat, "This is the end, there's no way out, it's all over!"  
  
I shot straight out of bed and fell to the ground, beads of cold sweat running down my body. "That dream again..." Something that seemed like a piercing, screeching sound went off; I turned to look and realized it was just my alarm clock. "It's Seven... aww man..." My sis walked in just then and greeted me a good morning, "Rise and shine Fluffy!" she said, staring at me on the ground, "What happened here?" I looked up at her and stood up on my feet, "I fell." I answered with an attitude, not really in the mood to talk. "Well hurry up and get dressed kiddo, you got a brand new life ahead of you in a brand new school in a brand new town." "Don't remind me," I said, with that, she went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast. I took a quick shower and put on whatever I had lying around that was clean, some gray pants with a kinda tight black shirt, as well as my accessories. I had a wristband on both of my wrists with three rows of thick spikes, I put on my belt with studs and skulls designed on them followed by my spiked necklace that I got as a gift from Jenn before I moved. Then I fixed my hair by soaking it in water then shaking my head like a dog shakes its fur to get dry. The outcome was always the same though; the top came down with some small bangs and the sides and back stuck out like curly spikes. (Just think Logan here people) Then I slid into my shoes without lacing them up, of course, and I was ready to go.  
  
I made my way into the kitchen and looked at the clock, 7:35am, I turned to my sister. "Look at you," she started, "Spikes and skulls and that THING on your face!" She was talking about my piercing, right below my lip. "I can't believe you actually did that!" she continued. I hate this speech... I heard it so many times from Mom and Dad. They might not have been the best parents in the world, but they didn't approve of sticking needles and having holes stabbed through my body. "I guess I'll see ya later" I made my way to the door and she hollered to me, "Aren't you going to have breakfast?" she asked. I was already out the door when I shouted back, "I'm not hungry!" slamming the door behind me. I walked down the street, my backpack thrown over my right shoulder with my earphones on listening to music, if I'm not playing it, I'm listening to it. The school was five blocks away and pretty close to home, but I took my time, making sure to buy, or rather, waste my time.  
  
Before I knew it, the school was right in front of me. I've been there before, but never really got a chance to look around, so... I wandered around looking for my first period. People passed me by and I'm not really the type to ask for help from anyone. It was like that for my first three periods; I had trouble finding my fourth class until this guy walked up to me. "You lost?" he asked. I turned to face him, he was wearing shades and looked to be 17 or18. Uh... yeah, I'm looking for my Chem. class." I told him. The teacher's name is McCoy, I think." "Oh, Mr. McCoy? He's this way, come on, I'll show you where he is." He seemed like a pretty nice guy. "So you're knew here? What's your name?" "I'm Rick." I told him, "Just moved here a few days ago." "Oh, that's cool, my name's Scott," he said as we approached a classroom, " and this is McCoy's class." "Thanks a lot, man" I said as I began to walk in. "Anytime." he replied, "Have a good first day."  
  
I took an empty seat and I started feeling hot and sweaty. Mr. McCoy introduced me to the class, but quickly got into the lesson plan. It was about gases and the reactions they have with other elements. He pulled out a Bunsen burner from a cupboard and placed it on the counter. "Some gases" he began to explain, "...react with the oxygen around them and when they are heated to a specific amount can cause this." He took out a jar that looked empty, but it was some sort of chemical. He placed a large thick glass container over the burner and opened the jar quickly; placing it inside as well, the chemical started to form into a bluish-green gas and filled the container. He then turned on the Bunsen burner and the gas ignited combusting inside. The class was filled with "whoa's" and the students were excited. "Did you see that?!" one student asked another, "That was too cool!" The bell rang and it was time for lunch. I was leaving when Mr. McCoy stopped me, "Are you okay?" he asked. "I noticed you looked really worn when you came in." "I looked at myself, sweaty T- shirt and my forehead was burning up, as well as what seemed most of my body. "I do feel kinda hot" I told him. "Kinda?" I thought to myself. "It's like an active volcano!" "You better go to the nurse," he said.  
  
I headed straight to the nurse's office when some overgrown loser stopped me. "Outta my way!" he yelled and pushed me aside. "Hey! Watch it jerk! I yelled back at him. There was no one around, and he turned to look at me again. "What'd you say? I'm going ta pound you to the ground!" I took a defensive stance, as if it would help against this guy. "Hey! What going on here?" said a voice coming from behind me, I turned to see a girl in green with brown hair and the most interesting white bangs rushing towards us, when suddenly I was covered in a blue flame. "W-What the!?" The guy in front of me wasted no time to find out what was going on when he charged at me, knocking me into some lockers and crashing to the floor. I got light-headed, the flames went away as quick as the came. "W-What's happening t-to me?? A girl walked towards me and kneeled beside me, "Are you alraht?" she said with a southern accent. "I..." I began to say. "Don't worry, ah'll get some help!" Then everything got black, and I passed out.  
  
I woke up later that day finding myself back in my sister's apartment. "Huh? How'd I get back here?" I asked myself. "We brought you here" answered a voice coming from the door. I was surprised to see Scott and another person as well, a tall redhead. "Our friend, Rogue, told us you passed out in the hallway at school. We found out where you lived and drove you home." explained the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry, let me introduce myself, my name is Jean." Rick nodded slowly. "Rick... Rogue said you were on fire or something, but we don't see any burns. You think you can explain what happened?" asked Scott. "It's the craziest thing man..." I began, "I was just about to rumble with this huge dude and all of a sudden I caught fire, but it wasn't regular fire... it was like a clear blue color, almost pure or something." Lis walked in just then "Rick needs his rest, maybe you two should head home now." "Right, come on Jean" said Scott. Jean nodded and handed a card to me, "Here, if you have any questions... just go to this place, it's where Scott and I live." I nodded and sat up, putting the card in my back pocket. With that, Jean and Scott left and I lied down again. "Get some sleep" Lis told me, and I closed my eyes to get some shut-eye, an even bigger day awaited me tomorrow.  
  
I was at school again, in my science class, but this scenario seemed all too familiar. Mr. McCoy was doing the same demonstration as yesterday. Right when the teacher turned on the burner, I jumped up and screamed, "No!" The flames appeared, the clear blue flames from before. They swept through the classroom, but everyone was gone. I ran through the streets trying to get home with the flames burning behind me following me all the way to my sister's apartment. But when I arrived, there was nothing. The apartment was burnt into rubble; only ashes and charred debris remained.  
  
"Aah!!" I woke up to find my room was on fire. The flames jumped around the walls and bounced from his curtains to the floor. I dashed out of bed and ran to Lis' room. "Lis? Lis, where are you?" I found Lis in the corner surrounded by the fire, I didn't think, I just ran through the flames and grabbed Lis. I ran out into the streets where the Fire department was already arriving. "Someone must have called" I told myself. Then I handed Lis to one of the paramedics and was about to go to the hospital with my sister when suddenly I heard a voice calling me from across the street. A man walked into an alley and I followed him.  
  
It was dark and I couldn't find this mysterious person, but I could hear his voice. "I saw what happened, I saw everything." The voice sounded real creepy to me and I was kind of afraid. "Who's there?" I wondered, "Come on out!" The voice then came from behind, "You started that fire, you have been gifted with a special power that makes you superior to normal people" I turned slowly and saw a man dressed in what seemed to be a cape and a helmet. It was too dark; I didn't know what was going on. "I'll help you control this power and give you a new home, one with others like you..." I stared at him, surprised to hear those words. "L-like me?" "Yes." Said the mysterious dark man, "Now, come with me." He extended his hand and I took it, we both disappeared into the darkness. 


	2. Reborn as a Mutant

A few days passed and it was lunchtime at school, Scott, Jean, Kitty and Rogue were all sitting at a table together. "It's been a week since Jean and I went to Rick's house, and that same day his home caught fire," said Scott. "You can't help but feel worried and a little responsible. We should have brought him to the institute and we could have helped him!" Scott slammed his fist on the table. "But the Professor said that there were no bodies found at the site of the fire, he's probably hiding out somewhere safe." Kitty said. "I know, I know... but he also can't find a single trace of Rick with Cerebro." The whole group dreaded over the worst possible outcome. Rogue spoke up, "Well, Cerebro only works when a mutant is using his powers, maybe Rick doesn't know how to use them yet." "That's always a possibility... let's just hope he's okay." Jean told them all.  
  
A few hours later school was over, Scott and Kurt were leaving the campus when they saw someone familiar standing in front of the school. They were astonished to see Rick. "Rick!" they ran to him, but something was different. Rick wasn't there to greet them, he smiled, but it wasn't a very friendly one. He made a gesture with his head for Scott to follow him and walked away. "What was that about?" Scott asked Kurt. "I don't know man, but Rick seems different than before" Kurt answered in his German accent. "Maybe we should follow him." Kurt said. "I don't know" Scott replied, "Kurt, go tell the others, I'm going after him." "Right." Kurt teleported away and Scott searched for Rick.  
  
Scott walked through the park where he saw Rick enter and was scouting the area. "So, Scott... did you miss me?" said a voice coming from above him. Scott looked up to see Rick sitting on a tree branch. "Rick, where have you been?" answered Scott. Rick jumped off the branch and landed on the floor perfectly. He lifted his head up to face Scott. "Aww, I guess you didn't miss me. Well, before I tell you anything Scott... I'd like to show you something." Rick's eyes began to glow, a bright blue flame appeared in his eyes and around his body like an aura. He aimed his hand toward Scott and shot an immense blue flame at him. The Flames were inches away from Scott when suddenly they were reflected. Jean appeared and she was using her telekinesis to form a shield to protect him. She wasn't alone, she came with the rest of the team. Evan, Kurt, Kitty and Rogue were there too. "Rogue...?" Rick said beneath his breath. Evan shot some of his spikes at Rick. He barely dodged the first few and burned the others to a crisp. Rick's arms were covered in flames and was about to fire back at Daniels when the other team members ran and stood next to Evan. So Rick held back and The flames disappeared. Rick stood up and backed away slightly. "This was fun, let's do it again sometime." Rick laughed and turned the other way, retreating into the trees. Jean ran to Scott, "Scott, what happened here? Why was Rick attacking you?" Evan approached him, along with Kurt, Kitty and Rogue. Scott stood in front of them and looked to where Rick ran off to, "I don't know, let's just get back and tell the professor."  
  
Later that evening, Rick met with the strange man again. Rick kneeled in front of him. "Master Magneto, sir..." he began but was cut off. "Silence, you disappointed me tonight. Why did you hold back?" Rick looked to the floor, not wanting to look up at Magneto. "You have feelings for that... Girl, don't you?" The powerful mutant asked. "She... she helped me the other day..." "Well put those feelings behind you, she is the enemy now and you will defeat her and the rest of the X-men!" He ordered. "Now, go home." "Y-yes, sir."  
  
Rick walked to the address on the piece of paper he had in his pocket. Magneto gave him directions to the boarding house where other mutants were staying. It was a big risk to Magneto because Rick would go on as if he never met him and might join the other side. Rick walked into the crummy looking house he was supposed to live in and found four teens inside. They all turned to face him and didn't exactly look happy to have a new roommate. "Hey there, roomies." Rick smirked, glaring over all of them. "I'll be staying with you guys, if anyone has a problem, why don't you step up and tell me right now?" Of course, the whole group stood up, and Lance responded first, "Yeah, I think we all have a problem with that."  
  
Rick looked over all of them and sighed. "So quick to resort to violence, I know you guys know better than that." He looked over at Fred Dukes, the guy who knocked him out a few days earlier. "As much as I'd love to get some payback on Dukes over there, I think fists aren't the answer." Lance and the others eased up a little and gave Rick their attention. "We're listening." Rick stood in front of them and told them the facts; "Xavier has a lot of people on his side, so it's only obvious that an extra hand in the Brotherhood wouldn't be too bad." They all nodded and the highly energetic Pietro Maximoff cut in. "Yeah but Boss Lady and Magneto aren't even around, who knows when we'll go against the geek squad again" Rick pondered that thought, "Well, until then, I'll be staying here... feels just like home already." Rick walked past his new comrades and headed upstairs when Fred stopped him. "You can't just walk in here and not show us what you can do, let's see it." The rebellious punk looked around walked outside, followed by the others. "My power isn't very indoor friendly. Check this out." Rick concentrated and created a bright blue flame around his hand and formed it into a ball. He spun it around on his fingers to showboat in front of the group. "A pyro, huh?" Todd "Toad" Tolansky said aloud. Rick placed both hands on the flame and compressed it, making it disappear. His eyes began to "flame up" like earlier and he looked to them. "Just call me... Flare."  
  
Meanwhile at the Xavier Institute. "Professor!" Scott ran along with the other X-men and met up with Professor Xavier. The Prof. was standing with Logan and knew what this was about. "I know Scott, I know. Cerebro detected the use of mutant powers while you were gone. It seems we know a little more about Rick now." He pointed at the screen, which had an image of Rick on it and a brief profile. "Name: Rick Alvarez; Age: 16; Residence: Bayville" The computer stated when the Professor cut it off. "Rick was living with his parents in Northbrook until they were divorced and Rick had to move to Bayville with his sister. That is all I can find out, it seems someone went to a great amount of trouble to hide his records. I am sure you all got a demonstration of his mutant abilities." "It seems to be some form of Pyrokinesis, but we're not sure if he can fully control it." Jean told Professor Xavier. Evan interrupted, "It sure seemed like he could, he roasted my attack as if it was firewood. "I know! It was totally freaky." Kitty added, "I can't believe I thought he was cute." Kurt and Rogue rolled their eyes when hearing Kitty's comment. The Professor folded his hands together and headed out the room. "The only way to find out what has happened here is to confront Rick himself, try to reach him. Perhaps we can help him with anything he is unsure of." The team looked at each other and nodded. "Sure thing Professor, you can count on us." Scott assured him.  
  
It was just about time for the kids at Mutant Manor to turn in for the night; Kitty and Rogue were lying in their beds but were not asleep.. "Kitty...?" Rogue asked. "Yeah, Rogue?" Kitty responded. "Ah was wondering, The Professor said Rick was from Northbrook, isn't that where you were from before you moved here?" Kitty tried to think back to see if she could remember Rick from school. "I'm not sure. Now that you ask, I do kinda remember someone like him. He was never out in the open or hung out with any of the well-known kids at school, mostly kept to himself. Not to mention that he's got a whole different look." Rogue rolled around in her bed, "Ah guess ah can relate." Hey!" Kitty sat up and looked to Rogue. "You should talk to him! I'm sure you have a lot more in common than you think." Rogue turned to face her but didn't seem like she was in the mood to talk. "Maybe, we'll find out tomorrow, but right now, ah'm goin' to bed. 'Night Kitty." Kitty yawned and lied down again, "'Night Rogue."  
  
Back at the boarding house, Lance and Rick were standing outside on the porch of the boarding house, talking. "You guys actually used your powers at the soccer game? What the heck were you thinking Alvers?" Rick laughed at the tremor-causing teen. "I was tired of keeping things under wraps and hiding all the time, but those X-punks had to ruin everything!" Lance cause a small shake out of anger. "Whoa, watch it there!" Rick held on to the wall trying to stay balanced. "I never thought I'd meet up with you again Alvers, I thought you would have welcomed me with open arms." Rick smirked. "Yeah right. I never would have guessed that you were a mutant." "A lot has happened Lance, much has changed..." Rick stared at the ground for a moment. "Don't go getting soft on me 'Flare'." Lance told Rick mockingly. "You don't need to worry about that Alvers." "Well, whatever." Lance yawned and walked into the building. "I'm goin' to bed now, if you plan on goin' to school tomorrow then you should do the same." "Yeah, yeah... you sound like my sister." Rick just remembered about his sister, he forgot about her being in the hospital and was now really worried. "...Elissa?" 


End file.
